To Ziye, chatting with An Junlie was the happiest thing in the world, bar none. An Junlie always seemed to know what she was thinking, never adding to her pressure, always offering comfort at precisely the right moment.

There was another very significant reason: An Junlie's voice was so gentle; listening to it melted her heart. Finally, An Junlie said, "I hear a lot of people are betting on who will win the championship lately.

I’ll be sure to bet on you." Ziye couldn't help but smile again. It was wonderful having An Junlie around.

After their conversation, Ziye slept exceptionally well, waking only in the afternoon when a hypersignal from Sprent came through. Ziye assumed he was calling to tell her that An Junlie was coming to Kaja, and she couldn't help but smile before he even spoke.

However, Sprent's expression was somewhat serious. "Did you receive an email from Teacher Zihong?

She demands our attendance at this afternoon's class. What should we do?" Ziye, still groggy from just waking up, her mind slow to engage, mumbled, "Teacher Zihong?" Sprent stressed, "Yes, Teacher Zihong." Ziye finally remembered that Teacher Zihong was the fiery redhead from her household.

Her eyes immediately lit up. "We'll go." She had only attended the redhead's combat class twice before, both times just observing her absolutely demolish the students.

Knowing Ziye had a competition coming up and was dealing with the Mengya Group matters, the redhead rarely made things difficult for her. Since she was summoning them now, there must be something important going on.

Ziye quickly got ready and left. Arriving at the combat arena, it was, unsurprisingly, a practical session.

That redhead absolutely had no interest in teaching theory in a classroom, so she called it 'Combat Guidance Class,' providing the students with a perfect venue for sparring, brawling, and settling scores. When she got there, about a dozen students from various academies were already standing around, all eager and flexing their muscles.

Ziye took a quick look around. Seeing the redhead wasn't there yet, she walked over to a resting chair in the corner, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.

The attempt failed. Due to the recent Mech Competition, Ziye, as a member of the Chu Chu team, had become quite famous at Kaja.

As soon as she sat down, students immediately surrounded her. Some expressed their admiration for Ziye and sincerely wished her success in the championship final.

As Ziye was thanking them, students from the Cadet Academy approached, issuing forthright challenges. They were, quite openly, Iriya's followers.

Other schools that had lost to the Chu Chu team also appeared, hoping to vent some frustration. Ziye’s face darkened.

The redhead calling her to class right now was just adding trouble to her plate. That detestable Axsprent—he called her to class but had vanished.

Frustrating! Now that she was here, it was awkward to leave, but she refused every single challenge.

Ziye had been attending the combat class for so long without ever fighting once; many assumed she was timid, which made them even bolder. Desperate, she was about to make a bathroom escape when the class bell rang.

The redhead and the Axsprent twins strode in right on time. Seeing them, Ziye felt like she'd found saviors.

She immediately bounded over to the twins, seeking cover. The redhead seemed not to notice Ziye, clapping her hands together.

"Alright, today we're doing guidance combat. The top ten ranked students in the class, step forward.

Everyone else, go challenge them." She paused, adding, "If no one steps up to challenge, they can select opponents for combat as well." With that, she gracefully moved to a resting chair, crossed her legs, and settled in to enjoy the show. Axsprent wasn't in the top ten, as they had only attended one class this semester.

Ziye certainly wasn't either. Therefore, they both became the ones designated for combat.

Since the redhead was seated, Ziye felt too awkward to sit, so she stood among the crowd, queuing up to wait. The guidance combat proceeded quickly.

Students fought in pairs, with the top ten giving instruction as they fought. If they couldn't explain properly, the redhead would chime in with supplementary advice.

As soon as one bout ended, the next group took over, while the rest sat around, forming a circle of spectators. Class time flew by.

Ziye looked at the time, thinking how nice it was just to watch and get acquainted with everyone. Just as she was thinking this, one of the top ten students who had already fought—a boy named Chaks, or maybe Chakas—suddenly stood up and declared, "I wish to challenge Student Ziye." All eyes swiveled to Ziye in a rush.

In this class, besides the beautiful teacher Zihong and Ziye, there wasn't a third female. As the saying goes, a class without girls has no future, and a world without ladies lacks love.

As the solitary splash of red among so much green, Ziye was treated like a princess in combat class. Now, someone was challenging the princess.

The crowd immediately booed him in disdain. The redhead clapped her hands, signaling for silence.

"Gender equality. Student Ziye, do you accept the challenge?" She paused.

"It's fine if you don't accept, but your final grade will be docked ten points." Ziye shot the redhead an annoyed glance and stood up. Suddenly, Sprent stood up.

"I will." The crowd cheered. "Hero saving the damsel truly blinds my tri-titanium alloy eyes!" However, no one found it inappropriate.

Sprent and Ziye were both on the Chu Chu team; it was natural for him to step up for her. The redhead looked at Sprent, then at Axsprent.

"State your names." This time, Sprent didn't lie, honestly stating his name: "Sprent." Ziye stood to Sprent's side and caught the fleeting shadow of malice in Chaks's eyes. Her heart skipped a beat, and she was about to stop Sprent, but Sprent didn't give her the chance, striding forward.

"I will be your opponent." The corners of the redhead’s lips curved into a faint smile. "Combat, begin!" Sprent, having just gone through the intense four-way pilot selection battle, possessed an unusual ** for close combat.

When he moved, it was decisively swift. Chaks was also a skilled fighter and immediately launched lethal strikes.

The preceding guidance combats had all been gentle as still water, stopping at the first sign of trouble, which had put the audience half to sleep. Now, with two truly fierce fighters, everyone jolted awake, finally interested.

At first glance, Ziye thought she was mistaken, but upon closer inspection, she realized she wasn't wrong. Chaks was genuinely aiming to kill Sprent!

Every one of his movements targeted Sprent’s hands. Chaks wasn't bulky, but he was a ruthless, highly focused combat expert.

What was terrifying was his speed; it was as if he had used ordinary enhancement agents. This was just a regular combat guidance class; they didn't specifically test if students used enhancers, nor would any student use an enhancer for a casual guidance session.

However, having survived the poison needle incident, Ziye was like a startle-reflex bird, unwilling to let even the slightest clue slip by. The more she watched, the more she felt something was amiss.

Could it be…? Ziye felt a bad premonition and quietly moved closer to Axsprent, voicing her worry.

Axsprent gestured for her to calm down. "Don't rush.

Let's just watch for now." The redhead watched as if nothing was wrong, explaining the key points of each move. Ziye frantically tried to signal the redhead, but the redhead simply didn't see it.

Just then, Chaks executed a spin and sent a kick flying toward Sprent’s face. Sprent showed no fear and leaped back.

Chaks’s speed was terrifying; he countered with a backhand strike aimed at Sprent's face. Sprent instinctively reached out to block.

The moment his hand moved, Sprent was startled and snatched it back. Clearly visible on Chaks’s hand was a miniature wrist blade!

The blade was extremely thin and small, and Chaks had his back to the redhead, so she couldn't see what was happening. Sprent was fast, but Chaks was faster.

By the time Sprent realized it, a sharp pain shot through his hand. He groaned, clutching it and stepping back.

Chaks pressed his advantage, raising his foot to fiercely kick Sprent’s chest. The redhead frowned slightly, leaped up, and delivered a flying kick directly to Chaks’s hand.

Her high-heeled foot executed a sharp rotation, pinning Chaks. She urgently commanded, "Get him to the hospital immediately!" Ziye forgot her anxiety, shouting to the twins, "Hurry and come with me!" Then, she bolted out the combat room door, quickly reaching the landing platform and opening the airship’s protective shield.

The twins rushed out the door, clutching their wounds. Everyone clearly saw blood seeping through the gaps in their fingers as they held on; the injuries were quite serious.

This accident was far beyond what anyone expected. No one had anticipated Chaks would suddenly attack, much less use a wrist blade.

Only after both twins were wounded did the realization slowly dawn on everyone: this was clearly an attack aimed at the Chu Chu team! Everyone looked at Chaks with a complex, nuanced expression.

But Chaks wasn't a student from the Cadet Academy. Why would he do this?

The redhead signaled the two young men to carry the injured boys, then bent down to retrieve the bloodied wrist blade, coldly notifying the Kaja police. Chaks looked at the redhead with an expression of fear and entreaty.

The redhead pretended not to notice. Chaks scrambled up from the ground and mouthed to the redhead, "Didn't you promise to protect me?" The redhead gave a cold laugh and reached out as if to grab his neck, but halfway there, remembering she was a teacher at Kaja, she changed the gesture to a pat, lightly tapping his shoulder.

"You have always been an outstanding student. But an outstanding student bringing a blade to class?

That's new knowledge for me too. You're on your own now." Kaja police arrived, took statements, immediately detained Chaks, and also took the redhead away.

All the students present were left stunned. A student commits assault, and the teacher is taken away.

Was this class still going to continue? Ziye was frantic.

After the twins were on the airship, despite her panic, they habitually initiated the ship's self-diagnostic check. She couldn't worry about that now; with only two seconds left on the countdown, she pressed 'Start.' In that very instant, she heard the self-diagnostic alarm blare: "Check failed!" ～RS